THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA.

The war in Northern Uganda started as a belief in 1987, which was treasured by Northerners. This belief was passed on from one generation to another saying no body was to rule them if she or he was a foreigner. This belief came about before the war in Sudan. The leaders of the Sudanic war were Joseph Kony and Joseph Garang. Joseph Kony aided by President Al Bashir wanted Sudan to be left as an Islamic Country while Joseph Garang was fighting for Southern Sudan to have high standards of living like Northern Sudan, and also to stop an Arab from being president. After sometime, Sudan and Uganda improved their relations and Sudan ended its support to Kony. Kony started fighting his way into Uganda. The war has left the impact below in Northern Uganda:

There has been displacing of people from their homes into camps due to the fear of death, resulting from the death of loved ones. Some people do sleep in bushes, while others on streets. There are also high rates of sick people as a result of the war. Red Cross in the Northern part of the people to assist the sick, but because of poor sanitation, more people are getting sick making the treatment insufficient. Wherever Red Cross goes to assist, in the north, they run short of materials like gloves cotton wool, syringes and medicine.

There's also water and air pollution, the bombs pollute the air when they're exploded, this affects people's body systems, and results into death, often times. Dead bodies are thrown into water sources, and it's this water that people use for domestic purposes. People also ease themselves in the waters increasing the risk of diseases, especially when they drink it.

The rapid spread of diseases is yet another problem in war affected Northern Uganda. There're so many people living in camps, making it easy for diseases like measles to spread. Many people run away from their homes to find refuge in camps congesting them. The camps get full that some people sleep on verandahs, without blankets to cover them. After exposing themselves to the cold weather, they get flu and cough, since it's cold at night.

There is also a problem of abduction in the war zone, children are so much victims of this. Girls and boys mainly are abducted from schools, which are burnt after wards. The boys are turned into boy-soldier, while others are killed if they are lazy, not being able to perform rebel work or take orders, some are forced to kill the lazy friends. Girls are taken for wives to the rebels. They get exposed to world of sexual harassment, a few who escape have an image of men as beasts. Some of these youth are starved to death, and those who try to escape are shot to death. Many of the abductees are never seen again by their relatives and loved ones. Most people have no hope for the abducted.

Due to the war, people are lacking basic needs like clothes, piped water, food, parental guidance, education and medical care. They do not have enough food leading to malnutrition among children. Security at the camps sometimes is not tight. The standard of living is low since people lack food, education, water among others. Most people lack shelter since the camps are full, they end up sleeping outside their houses awaiting their death..

The war destroys our environment since resources like forests are burnt down while plantations and gardens are destroyed. People throw things like polythene bags into the soil, which suffocates the land leading to infertility of soil.

There are so many deaths in one way or another. Some step on land mines, some are maimed, other starve to death, others are hanged on trees, others are put in houses are burnt to ashes, while others die during cross fire.

In my opinion, the President of Uganda should talk peace with rebel leader Joseph Kony to stop the war because people in the north are dying and suffering innocently. Kony should think twice before he continues the war. Let him think of the innocent lives he's taking away, while the president, too, does so. They should all think of the people and how they're suffering. Let the government help the NGOs to promote things like food, shelter, water, education, medical care for the better future of our Motherland, Uganda.

ADONG Margaret S 1 14 years

Judges (Teachers) Comment:

Margaret is the overall winner of the competition, and winner of the entries on the Topic - The War in Northern Uganda-. Adong gives a good introduction, writes about the effects of the war on the people. Had original work and very clear language. Gives her own view about the war and offers solutions to the problem. She goes to the ground and gives clear examples on how the war has affected the people in the north of the country. Her work is so good for the age and a girl of her class, and, also given her intellect.

THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA.

Historically, the war in Northern Uganda started way back in 1986 as a form of resistance to the current government, and it was spearheaded by Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). However, there were other forms of resistance in the early 1980s for example Alice Lakwena's group and the West Nile Bank Front Forces. Some of these groups, and people from the groups, joined hands with Joseph Kony's LRA to form a powerful alliance against the government. However, some groups surrendered to the government under the amnesty law for example, in the year 2002, the West Nile Bank Forces.

The war in Northern Uganda, which has lasted for more than 15 years, has left a lot of negative impact that are social, economic and political: It's believed that over three hundred thousand (300,000) people have lost their lives in the course of the war. In addition to that, the frequent use of weapons like land mines and explosives has led to maiming of people. Legs, hands, ears, lands etc have been lost by so many people.

People have been displaced from their home villages as a result of the war. Young and old are sleeping outside mission hospitals, schools, churches and in concentration camps. They lack basics like food, blankets, medicine, generally, their lives are more than miserable.

Traditionally, the cultural practices of the people in the region have been greatly undermined, for example traditional rituals that are done when gathering around fire places have been stopped.

Economically, there has been great decline in the production activities like in agriculture. This is mainly because people are always on the move run which results into famine and untold suffering which in turn leads to malnutrition thereby causing various diseases such as Kwashako in the youth and Marasmas in the old people.

The war led to poor development of infrastructure in the region for example, very few schools and hospitals are in the region. These few provide inadequate services as people seem to be far out of proportion to them. In Gulu district alone, over one hundred and fifty schools have been closed due to the war. Besides, the war has resulted into poor performance of the pupils and students in National examinations like Primary Living Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) among others.

In addition to that, the war has traumatized people, the youth especially do have great fear in their hearts, some of them have grown up this war environment, and parents seem to have lost hope for there children. Peace seems to be a distant dream.

On the other hand, the government is taking steps to stop the war, and reduce the suffering of the people in the affected zone. Among others, the following are inclusive:-

The UPDF in the year 2000-date is executing Operation Iron Fist which is basically intended to destroy the training camps of the LRA in Southern Sudan.

The government has sought assistance from humanitarian bodies to operate in the region, for example the UN, Norwegian Refugees Council (NRC), Red Cross, Gulu Support the Children Organization (GU.S.C.O). And all these organizations are trying to help the people in the region by supplying them with food, accommodation places, blankets, medical care and providing educational facilities like meeting school fees and theyve also gone ahead to open certain institutional schools for example, World vision technical institute for the people in the region.

In the year 2001-to date, the government provided the amnesty that is intended to encourage the rebels to abandon their activities.

Between 2000-2002, the government tried out peace talks with the rebels that were futile.

In a nutshell, the government should all that is needed to stop the war, and also, there should be more done to help the humanitarian situation especially to the children. 

Ocen Deo S.3, 17 years

Judges (teachers) Comment:

Deo Emerged No. 2 in the Competition, he gave a good but brief background about the war. He writes government efforts to stop the war.   

CHANGE IN EDUCATION, CHANGE IN OUR SOCIETY

Education is process of teaching, training and learning in Schools or Colleges.

Historically, education was categorized into the following; formal and informal. Formal education is the type of education that didn't exist until the coming of the Christian missionaries in Uganda, and it's the type of education that is followed else where in the world. Informal education existed before formal education. It was carried out around fireplaces as the elders gave advice to the young ones on how things were done for example digging, hunting and so many others.

The impact of education in our society includes:

Education has made the educated find it easy to predict their future. They choose and receive training in their chosen professions.

Education has eliminated ignorance from many people. They acquire and use the knowledge for their own improvement.

People have acquired knowledge which they have used to lift their standards of living. This would not have been possible had it not been for education.

Education has greatly improved and developed our reasoning capacity that even the young can also think and take decisions on their own.

Through the subject of Geography, education has enabled us to know about our environment. How we can protect it, use it for economic benefit without destroying it, as well as the ways through which it can be destroyed.

Education has been a liability to the society as it is laid below:

Education has been so built that it instills fear in a student, thinking that all he has to do is to compete with fellow students, this fear has changed some students' attitude towards education, that they grow to hate it instead of loving it.

It has done has eliminated the unprivileged people in our society. This is especially to those children who lack school fees.

Some people who receive education have not been shown the best way to apply it, people have used education to destroy mankind, while others just do not know what to do with education after they've acquired it.

The system of education in our society is one that encourages cheating in exams where teachers do cheat for their students, and students also cheat on their own.

The system is one that encourages theory other than practical methods of teaching, this partly accounts for the very many job seekers in our country. In todays world, its job makers other than seekers who have a place. We are poor not because we are poor, we are poor not because poverty should be our lot in life, but rather because of our poor education system. A change in our education will give a reform in our society.

Wabusa Fredrick 14 years,

S.3 Progressive Sec. Sch

Judges (Teachers) Comment:

Fredrick takes the third position.

His is a largely fact oriented essay that's unspiced, thread bear. The facts are stated objectively, however. He gives the positive and negative effects of education, putting it in a balance.